Catherine Rusoff
Cassie Ventura reacted to newly released surveillance video that appears to show her ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs attacking her in a hotel. The singer, who has already sued the rapper and businessman for years of alleged abuse, thanked people for their outpouring of support.
Ventura’s lawsuit against Combs in November was settled the day after it was filed, but Combs soon faced several other lawsuits and a federal criminal sex trafficking investigation.
In her lawsuit, Cassie describes a 2016 incident at an InterContinental Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles that matches details in surveillance video recently released by CNN. The lawsuit alleges that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the security video, and it is unclear how CNN obtained it. Combs denied the allegations in the lawsuit.
Combs has since posted a video on social media apologizing for the incident in the video, saying his behavior was “inexcusable” and that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions.
Now, Ventura, 37, has broken his silence, sharing a statement on social media Thursday. “The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is just the beginning,” she wrote.
“Domestic violence is THE problem. She turned me into someone I never thought I would become,” she said. “With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from the past.”
She asked people to open their hearts and believe the victims. “It takes a lot of courage to tell the truth about a situation in which you were powerless,” she said.
Following the video’s release, Douglas Wigdor, Cassie’s attorney who has filed other lawsuits against Combs, released a statement calling it “distressing.”
The video “only further confirmed Mr. Combs’ disturbing and predatory behavior,” he said. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura demonstrated in coming forward to bring this to light.”
Combs has faced multiple allegations since Ventura filed the lawsuit in November. One woman alleged that he sexually assaulted her in 1991 and another alleged that he and two other men raped her when she was 17 in 2003. Combs’ legal team took steps to dismiss parts or all of those lawsuits.
In March, search warrants for his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were conducted by Homeland Security in its sex trafficking investigation, which continues.
Combs has not been charged and his attorney said the investigation is “a gross military-grade use of force.”
